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Appendix C. IBM Object REXX interpreter
C.1 Features
It's easy to get excited about REXX. REXX is a versatile, free-format
language. Its simplicity makes it a good first language for beginners. For
more experienced users and computer professionals, REXX offers powerful
functions and the ability to issue commands to multiple environments.
The most vital role REXX plays is as a programming language for Windows.
A REXX program can serve as a script for the Windows operating system to
follow. Using REXX, you can reduce long, complex, or repetitious tasks to a
single command or program.
Although we have not included any examples here, REXX can be used to
customize your users desktops, automate their installs by running scripts in
the background, during installation. This language provides intelligent
scripting capabilities at no additional costs.
For those unfamiliar with REXX, the following aspects round out its versatility
and function.
C.1.1 Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented extensions have been added to traditional REXX, but its
existing functions and instructions have not changed. The Object REXX
Interpreter is actually an enhanced version of its predecessor but with new
support for:
Classes, objects, and methods
Messaging and polymorphism
Inheritance and multiple inheritance
Object REXX supplies the user with a base set of classes. These are ALARM,
CLASS, ARRAY, LIST, QUEUE, TABLE, SET, DIRECTORY, RELATION, BAG,
MESSAGE, METHOD, MONITOR, STEM, STREAM, STRING, and
SUPPLIER. Object REXX is fully compatible with earlier versions of REXX
that were not object-oriented.
C.1.2 An English-like language
To make REXX easier to learn and use, many of its instructions are
meaningful English words. Unlike some programming languages that use
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